Sewing needle holding device

ABSTRACT

This sewing needle holding device (10) is provided with: a holder (24) which holds the base end side of a sewing needle (14) provided with, from the leading end side toward the base end side in the extension direction, a small diameter portion (16), an outer diameter varying portion (20a), and a large diameter portion (18); and a presser member (26) which is mounted to the holder (24). The holder (24) causes at least the small diameter portion (16) and the outer diameter varying portion (20a) of the sewing needle (14) to protrude from a holder leading-end surface (34). The presser member (26) has a counter portion (46) that faces the holder leading-end surface (34). The counter portion (46) has formed therein an insertion hole (50) through which the small diameter portion (16) can be inserted. At least a part of the insertion hole (50) is provided with a pressure-receiving surface (52) that comes into abutment with the outer diameter varying portion (20a).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a sewing needle holding device forholding a sewing needle.

BACKGROUND ART

For example, in order to enhance design of an object to be sewn, such asan outer covering material that is used as an interior material of avehicle, stitches may be formed on the object to be sewn by sewing. Asewing needle holding device for holding sewing needles is attached to asewing device that performs the sewing. By the way, during sewing, dueto frictions etc. between the object to be sewn and the sewing needle,the sewing needle may undergo a force in such a direction as to pull thesewing needle out of the sewing needle holding device. To solve thisproblem, the needle clamping mechanism disclosed in JP 2007-131975 A,for example, can be adopted as the sewing needle holding device, so asto prevent the sewing needle from coming off during sewing.

Specifically, the proximal end of a sewing needle is formed into a headhaving a diameter that is larger than the other part, for example byfitting a collar on it or by press-forming it. Further, an insertionhole having a smaller diameter than the head is formed in the holderused to hold the sewing needle. Part of the sewing needle extending fromthe head to the distal end is then inserted into the insertion hole andfixed to the holder. In this case, because the insertion hole thus has asmaller diameter than the head, the head comes in contact with the wallaround the insertion hole of the holder, and as a consequence the sewingneedle is prevented from coming off the holder even if a force acts in adirection to pull the sewing needle out of the holder.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

This needle clamping mechanism requires forming the head at the proximalend of the sewing needle. That is, it is difficult to use mass-produced,commercially-available, common sewing needles without adding someprocessing thereto. This will make complex the process of holding thesewing needles with the sewing needle holding device, and will lead toincreased cost.

A main object of the present invention is to provide a sewing needleholding device that can prevent sewing needles from coming offtherefrom, in a simple way and at low cost.

An aspect of the present invention is directed to a sewing needleholding device that holds a sewing needle having a small-diameterportion disposed on a distal side in a direction in which the sewingneedle extends, a large-diameter portion disposed on a proximal side andhaving a larger diameter than the small-diameter portion, and avarying-outer-diameter portion disposed between the small-diameterportion and the large-diameter portion. The sewing needle holding deviceincludes a holder configured to hold the proximal side of the sewingneedle, and a presser member attached to the holder. The holder allowsat least the varying-outer-diameter portion and the small-diameterportion of the sewing needle to protrude from a holder distal endsurface of the holder, and the presser member has an opposing portionthat opposes the holder distal end surface, the opposing portion beingprovided with an insertion hole allowing the small-diameter portion tobe inserted therethrough, and at least part of the insertion hole formsa pressure receiving surface that comes in contact with thevarying-outer-diameter portion.

A mass-produced, commercially-available, common sewing needle has asmall-diameter portion, a varying-outer-diameter portion, and alarge-diameter portion that are formed in this order from its distal endto proximal end. The holder holds the proximal portion of such a sewingneedle. Further, the presser member attached to the holder has aninsertion hole through which the small-diameter portion of the sewingneedle can be inserted, and at least part of the insertion hole has thepressure receiving surface that comes in contact with thevarying-outer-diameter portion of the sewing needle.

Accordingly, even if, during sewing, a force acts on the sewing needlein a direction to pull it out of the holder and presser member, thepressure receiving surface of the presser member can receive this forcethrough the varying-outer-diameter portion of the sewing needle. Thisprevents the sewing needle from coming off the holder and pressermember.

That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to preventthe sewing needle from coming off, in a simple way and at low cost,since the sewing needle holding device can utilize thevarying-outer-diameter portion of a common sewing needle, i.e., since itcan use a common sewing needle without the need to add some processingthereto, such as forming a head at the proximal end of the sewingneedle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating important partsof a sewing device to which a sewing needle holding device of anembodiment of the invention has been attached;

FIG. 2 is a cross section of the sewing needle holding device of FIG. 1,which is taken along the direction in which the sewing needles extend;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams used to explain a process inwhich the proximal sides of the sewing needles are held in a holder ofthe sewing needle holding device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram used to explain how a presser memberand a pressurizing mechanism are attached to the holder of FIG. 3B; and

FIG. 5 is a cross section of a sewing needle holding device according toa modification of the invention, which is taken along the direction inwhich the sewing needles extend.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The sewing needle holding device according to the present invention willbe described in detail in connection with preferred embodiments whilereferring to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, constituentelements having the same or similar functions and effects will belabeled using the same reference numerals, and these constituentelements will not be explained repeatedly.

As shown in FIG. 1, a sewing needle holding device 10 of an embodimentis attached to a sewing device 12 when used. FIG. 1 does not show theconstituent elements of the sewing device 12 except a needle bar 30 anda table 32 that will be described later. Although not shown in thedrawing, automotive interior parts may be produced, for example by usinga soft covering material to cover the surface of a base material that ismade of, e.g., a hard synthetic resin such as polypropylene, and thenforming a textured pattern or stitched pattern on the surface of thecovering material in order to enhance its aesthetic design. Preferredexamples of the sewing device 12 to which the sewing needle holdingdevice 10 is attached include a device that is used to form a stitchedpattern by making chain stitches or the like on an object to be sewn(not shown) which can be such a covering material prepared as a separateitem, or a covering material integrated with the base material. However,the present invention is not particularly limited to this, and thesewing needle holding device 10 can be applied in the same way tovarious kinds of sewing devices that perform sewing using sewing needles14.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A, the sewing needle holding device 10 can holdcommon sewing needles 14 that are mass-produced and available on themarket. The sewing needle 14 of this kind has a small-diameter portion16 disposed on its distal side in the direction in which it extends, alarge-diameter portion 18 disposed on its proximal side and having alarger diameter than the small-diameter portion 16, and a taperedportion 20 disposed between the small-diameter portion 16 and thelarge-diameter portion 18, and forming a varying-outer-diameter portion20 a whose diameter increases from the small-diameter portion 16 towardthe large-diameter portion 18. The sewing needle 14 further has an eye22 which is formed in the small-diameter portion 16 and through whichthe thread is passed.

This embodiment will explain an example in which the sewing needleholding device 10 holds two sewing needles 14 arranged in parallel at agiven interval, but the sewing needle holding device 10 is notparticularly limited to this example. The number of the sewing needles14 held by the sewing needle holding device 10 may be one, or three ormore.

The sewing needle holding device 10 includes a holder 24, a pressermember 26, and a pressuring mechanism 28. As shown in FIG. 1, the holder24 is removably attached to the needle bar 30 of the sewing device 12.When the sewing device 12 is driven, the holder 24 goes up and downtogether with the needle bar 30 between the needle bar 30 and theopposing table 32. The mechanism for attaching the holder 24 and theneedle bar 30 together can be configured in a known manner, and so itwill not be described in detail and not shown in the drawings. Theholder 24 holds the proximal parts of the sewing needles 14 in such amanner that the sewing needles 14 extend along the direction in whichthe needle bar 30 goes up and down.

In the following description, based on the direction in which the sewingneedles 14 extend when held by the sewing needle holding device 10(extending direction, the arrow X direction), the side of the sewingneedle holding device 10 that is located on the distal side of thesewing needles 14 will also be referred to as the distal side (arrow X1side), and the side thereof that is located on the proximal side of thesewing needles 14 will be referred to as the proximal side (arrow X2side). Further, the direction in which the two sewing needles 14 arearranged side by side when held by the sewing needle holding device 10(the arrow Y direction) will be referred to as the orthogonal directionthat is orthogonal to the extending direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the holder 24 has fitting holes 36 that have abottom and extend from a holder distal end surface 34 disposed on thedistal side, toward the proximal side by a given length, and screw holes38 that extend along a direction intersecting the fitting holes 36 so asto allow the respective fitting holes 36 to communicate with the outersides of the holder 24.

The proximal part of each sewing needle 14, e.g. the large-diameterportion 18, is inserted into the fitting hole 36 halfway. In thiscondition, it is preferred that a proximal end surface 40 of the sewingneedle 14 inserted in the fitting hole 36 comes in contact with an innerbottom surface 42 of the fitting hole 36. With the large-diameterportion 18 fitted in the fitting hole 36 in this way, a setscrew 44 isscrewed into the screw hole 38 to hold the large-diameter portion 18 ofthe sewing needle 14 between the setscrew 44 and the inner wall surfaceof the fitting hole 36. The proximal end of the sewing needle 14 is thusheld in the holder 24 in such a manner that a part of the distal side ofthe large-diameter portion 18 of the sewing needle 14, the taperedportion 20, and the small-diameter portion 16 protrude from the holderdistal end surface 34.

The holder 24 is configured to hold the sewing needles 14 in such amanner that at least the tapered portions 20 and the small-diameterportions 16 (the parts extending from the tapered portions 20 to thedistal side) of the sewing needles 14 protrude from the holder distalend surface 34. The large-diameter portions 18 of the sewing needles 14may be cylindrical, or may each have a cut (not shown) so that thesewing needle 14 comes in contact with the setscrew 44 on a flatsurface.

The presser member 26 is attached to the holder 24 through thepressurizing mechanism 28. Specifically, the presser member 26 has anopposing portion 46 that opposes the holder distal end surface 34, and aset of side portions 48 that extend respectively along the oppositesides of the holder 24 that are spaced apart from each other in theorthogonal direction (or the arrow Y direction), from both ends of theopposing portion 46 in the orthogonal direction. For example, the holder24 and the presser member 26 may be configured such that they can bejoined together by fitting the holder 24 between the side portions 48,with the set of side portions 48 being sized so that the distancebetween surfaces 48 a thereof, which face each other in the orthogonaldirection, is slightly smaller than the length between the opposite endsof the holder 24 in the orthogonal direction.

The opposing portion 46 is provided with insertion holes 50 throughwhich the respective small-diameter portions 16 can be inserted alongthe extending direction, and at least part of each insertion hole 50forms a tapered, pressure receiving surface 52 that comes in contactwith the tapered portion 20. That is, at least part of the insertionhole 50 has a diameter that increases from the distal side (the arrow X1side) toward the proximal side (the arrow X2 side). The smallestdiameter of the insertion hole 50 is smaller than the outer diameter ofthe large-diameter portion 18 of the sewing needle 14. As shown in FIG.2, the pressure receiving surface 52 may be shaped so that the wholeinsertion hole 50 is tapered.

Each side portion 48 is provided with a through hole 54 that passesthrough the side portion 48 along the extending direction. The throughhole 54 has a short-diameter portion 54 a and a long-diameter portion 54b having a larger diameter than the short-diameter portion 54 a. Theshort-diameter portion 54 a is formed in a distal part of the sideportion 48. The long-diameter portion 54 b is formed in a proximal partof the side portion 48. However, the through hole 54 may be configuredto extend with a uniform diameter in the extending direction, withouthaving the short-diameter portion 54 a and the long-diameter portion 54b.

The pressurizing mechanism 28 applies, to the holder 24 and the pressermember 26, a pressurizing force in a direction to place the holderdistal end surface 34 and the opposing portion 46 close to each other(this force will hereinafter be referred to simply as a pressurizingforce). Specifically, the pressurizing mechanism 28 includes male screwmembers 56 and female screw members 58. Each male screw member 56 has amale screw shank 60 that is inserted into the short-diameter portion 54a of the through hole 54 from the distal end of the side portion 48, anda male screw head 62 that is formed integrally with the male screw shank60. The female screw member 58 has a hollow female screw shank 64 thatis inserted into the long-diameter portion 54 b of the through hole 54from the proximal end of the side portion 48 and that has a femalethread formed therein to be engaged with the male screw shank 60, and afemale screw head 66 that is formed integrally with the female screwshank 64.

The male screw shank 60 is screwed into the female screw shank 64 withinthe through hole 54. As the male screw head 62 and the female screw head66 come closer to each other in this way, the male screw head 62 comesin contact with the distal end surface of the opposing portion 46, andthe female screw head 66 comes in contact with a holder proximal endsurface 68 disposed on the proximal side of the holder 24. In this way,a pressurizing force can be applied to the holder 24 and the pressermember 26 between the male screw head 62 and the female screw head 66,by thus bringing the male screw head 62 and the female screw head 66close to each other.

Now, an example of a process of holding the sewing needles 14 with thesewing needle holding device 10 will be described. The process ofholding the sewing needles 14 with the sewing needle holding device 10may be conducted either with or without the holder 24 being mounted tothe needle bar 30 of the sewing device 12 (see FIG. 1).

First, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the proximal parts of the sewingneedles 14 are inserted respectively into the fitting holes 36 of theholder 24, and then the setscrews 44 are screwed respectively into thescrew holes 38, so as to fix the proximal parts of the sewing needles 14in the holder 24. At this time, adjustment is made such that the eyes 22of the sewing needles 14 are oriented in given directions with respectto the sewing device 12 (see FIG. 1), and the proximal end surface 40 ofeach sewing needle 14 is placed in contact with the inner bottom surface42 of the fitting hole 36. Further, the whole body of each setscrew 44is inserted into the screw hole 38.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the opposing portion 46 of the presser member26 and the holder distal end surface 34 are brought close to each other.At this time, the holder 24 is fitted between the side portions 48 ofthe presser member 26, while inserting the sewing needles 14, whichprotrude from the holder distal end surface 34, into the respectiveinsertion holes 50 in the opposing portion 46 from their tips. In thisway, the pressure receiving surfaces 52 of the insertion holes 50 arebrought in contact respectively with the tapered portions 20 of thesewing needles 14.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the male screw shank 60 of each male screwmember 56 is inserted into the short-diameter portion 54 a of thethrough hole 54 from the distal end of the side portion 48, and thefemale screw shank 64 of each female screw member 58 is inserted intothe long-diameter portion 54 b of the through hole 54 from the proximalend of the side portion 48. Further, each male screw shank 60 is screwedinto the female screw shank 64, while adjusting the distance between themale screw head 62 and the female screw head 66 so that an appropriatepressurizing force can be applied to the holder 24 and the pressermember 26.

In this way, the sewing needles 14 are held by the sewing needle holdingdevice 10, with the parts of the respective sewing needles 14 extendingfrom the tapered portions 20 to the proximal side being held between theinner bottom surfaces 42 of the respective fitting holes 36 of theholder 24 and the respective pressure receiving surfaces 52 of thepresser member 26. Then, the sewing device 12 (see FIG. 1), to which thesewing needle holding device 10 has been mounted, drives the needle bar30 to perform sewing, for example to form double stitches on the objectto be sewn (not shown), by using the two sewing needles 14. In thiswork, a force is likely to act in a direction to pull the sewing needles14 out of the holder 24, due to the frictions etc. occurring between theobject to be sewn and the sewing needles 14, especially when the objectto be sewn has high rigidity, like a covering material integrated withthe base material as explained earlier.

Even in such a case, this force acting on the sewing needles 14 can bereceived at the pressure receiving surfaces 52 of the presser member 26through the tapered portions 20, which prevents the sewing needles 14from coming off the holder 24 and the presser member 26.

In this way, the sewing needle holding device 10 of the embodiment canprevent the sewing needles 14 from coming off, in a simple way and atlow cost, since the sewing needle holding device 10 can utilize thevarying-outer-diameter portions 20 a of common sewing needles 14, i.e.,since it can use the common sewing needles 14 without the need to addsome processing thereto, such as forming a larger-diameter head at theproximal end of the sewing needle 14.

In the sewing needle holding device 10 of the embodiment describedabove, the varying-outer-diameter portion 20 a is formed as the taperedportion 20 whose diameter increases from the small-diameter portion 16toward the large-diameter portion 18. However, the shape of thevarying-outer-diameter portion 20 a is not limited to such a taperedshape, as long as, for example, it has a part that becomes larger fromthe distal side toward the proximal side in the extending direction.Further, the shape of the pressure receiving surface 52 is not limitedto such a tapered shape, as long as it is shaped so that it can come incontact with the varying-outer-diameter portion 20 a to receive theabove-described force acting on the sewing needle 14.

The sewing needle holding device 10 according to the embodiment abovefurther includes the pressurizing mechanism 28 that applies, to theholder 24 and the presser member 26, a pressurizing force in a directionto place the holder distal end surface 34 and the opposing portion 46close to each other. In this case, the part of the sewing needle 14extending from the tapered portion 20 to the proximal side can be heldbetween the holder 24 and the pressure receiving surface 52, so that thesewing needle holding device 10 can hold the sewing needle 14 morereliably. This effectively prevents the sewing needle 14 from coming offthe holder 24 and the presser member 26.

In the sewing needle holding device 10 according to the embodimentabove, the presser member 26 has the side portion 48 extending along aside of the holder 24, and the side portion 48 has the through hole 54passing through the side portion 48 along the direction in which thesewing needle 14 extends. The pressurizing mechanism 28 includes themale screw member 56 and the female screw member 58. The male screwmember 56 has the male screw shank 60 that is inserted into the throughhole 54 from the distal end of the side portion 48, and the male screwhead 62 that is formed integrally with the male screw shank 60. Thefemale screw member 58 has the hollow female screw shank 64 that isinserted into the through hole 54 from the proximal end of the sideportion 48 and that has a female thread formed therein to be engagedwith the male screw shank 60, and the female screw head 66 that isformed integrally with the female screw shank 64. Inside the throughhole 54, the male screw shank 60 is screwed into the female screw shank64 so as to apply the pressurizing force to the holder 24 and thepresser member 26 between the male screw head 62 and the female screwhead 66 that are placed closer to each other.

In this case, the pressurizing force can be applied to the holder 24 andthe presser member 26 using the simple structure including the malescrew member 56 and the female screw member 58 that are inserted intothe through hole 54 of the side portion 48. Further, the distancebetween the opposing portion 46 and the holder distal end surface 34 canbe adjusted by adjusting the amount by which the male screw member 56 isscrewed into the female screw member 58. This makes it possible to applyan appropriate pressurizing force to the holder 24 and the pressermember 26 according to the size of the sewing needle 14 being used(e.g., the length of the large-diameter portion 18 along the extendingdirection), improving the versatility of the sewing needle holdingdevice 10.

In the sewing needle holding device 10 according to the embodimentabove, the side portion 48 is formed of a set of side portions thatoppose each other, with the holder 24 interposed therebetween, in theorthogonal direction that is orthogonal to the direction in which thesewing needle 14 extends. In this case, the male screw member 56 and thefemale screw member 58 can be inserted in the through hole 54 of theside portion 48 provided on either side in the direction orthogonal tothe sewing needle 14, so that the pressurizing force can be appliedfurther effectively to the holder 24 and the presser member 26.

The presser member 26 of the above-described embodiment has the sideportions 48, but its structure is not particularly limited to thisexample. For example, a sewing needle holding device 70 according to amodification shown in FIG. 5 may include a presser member 72 that doesnot have the side portions 48 (see FIG. 2), in place of the pressermember 26 (see FIG. 2). In this case, the sewing needle holding device70 may include, in place of the holder 24 (see FIG. 2), a holder 74 thathas a longer length along the orthogonal direction (the arrow Ydirection) than the holder 24. Since the holder 74 is sized longer inthe orthogonal direction, communication holes 75 may be formed on theouter sides of the screw holes 38 in the orthogonal direction so thatthe screw holes 38 can be accessed from the outside of the holder 74.

Specifically, the presser member 72 is formed only of the opposingportion 46 that opposes the holder distal end surface 34, and theopposing portion 46 has, on both sides thereof in the orthogonaldirection, through holes 76 that pass therethrough along the extendingdirection. Further, the holder 74 has threaded holes 78 on both sidesthereof in the orthogonal direction, in positions that coaxially alignrespectively with the through holes 76 in the opposing portion 46 whenthe opposing portion 46 is placed to face the holder distal end surface34. When attaching the presser member 72 to the holder 74, bolts 80serving as the pressuring mechanism 28 are screwed respectively into thethrough holes 76 and threaded holes 78 that are coaxially aligned witheach other.

Accordingly, when holding the sewing needles 14 with the sewing needleholding device 70, as with the holder 24 (see FIG. 2) of the sewingneedle holding device 10, the proximal sides of the sewing needles 14are held by the holder 74 first. Next, the opposing portion 46 isbrought closer to the holder distal end surface 34, while inserting thesewing needles 14, protruding from the holder 74, respectively into theinsertion holes 50 of the opposing portion 46, so as to place thetapered portions 20 of the sewing needles 14 in contact respectivelywith the pressure receiving surfaces 52 of the insertion holes 50.

Next, by placing the opposing portion 46 to face the holder distal endsurface 34 in the above-described manner, the bolts 80 are screwedrespectively into the threaded holes 78 and through holes 76 that arealigned coaxially. The sewing needles 14 are thus held in the sewingneedle holding device 70, with the part of each sewing needle 14extending from the tapered portion 20 to the proximal side being heldbetween the inner bottom surface 42 of the fitting hole 36 of the holder74 and the pressure receiving surface 52 of the presser member 72. Thissewing needle holding device 70 can simplify its constituent components,including the presser member 72.

In the sewing needle holding device 10, 70 of the embodiments above, theholder 24, 74 is provided with the fitting hole 36 which has a bottomand into which the proximal side of the sewing needle 14 is inserted,and the screw hole 38 extending along a direction intersecting thefitting hole 36 so as to allow the fitting hole 36 to communicate withthe outer side of the holder 24, 74, and the proximal side of the sewingneedle 14 is held between the setscrew 44 screwed into the screw hole 38and the inner wall surface of the fitting hole 36. In this case, thesewing needle 14 is reliably prevented from turning inside the fittinghole 36, since the sewing needle 14 is held between the setscrew 44 andthe inner wall surface of the fitting hole 36.

In the sewing needle holding device 10, 70 according to the embodimentsabove, the proximal end surface 40 of each sewing needle 14 comes incontact with the inner bottom surface 42 of the fitting hole 36 when thesewing needle 14 is held in the holder 24, 74. This certainly preventsthe sewing needle 14 held in the holder 24, 74 from moving to theproximal side in the extending direction, enabling the sewing needle 14to be held more reliably. Further, when the pressurizing mechanism 28applies the pressurizing force to the holder 24, 74 and the pressermember 26, 72, the part of the sewing needle 14 extending from thetapered portion 20 to the proximal side is held reliably between theinner bottom surface 42 of the fitting hole 36 and the pressurereceiving surface 52, whereby the sewing needle 14 can be furthereffectively prevented from coming off the holder 24, 74 and the pressermember 26, 72.

The present invention is not particularly limited to the embodimentsdescribed above, and various modifications are possible withoutdeparting from the essence and gist of the invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   10, 70: sewing needle holding device-   14: sewing needle-   16: small-diameter portion-   18: large-diameter portion-   20: tapered portion-   20 a: varying-outer-diameter portion-   24, 74: holder-   26, 72: presser member-   28: pressurizing mechanism-   34: holder distal end surface-   36: fitting hole-   38: screw hole-   40: proximal end surface-   42: inner bottom surface-   44: setscrew-   46: opposing portion-   48: side portion-   50: insertion hole-   52: pressure receiving surface-   54, 76: through hole-   56: male screw member-   58: female screw member-   60: male screw shank-   62: male screw head-   64: female screw shank-   66: female screw head-   80: bolt

What is claim is:
 1. A sewing needle holding device that holds a sewingneedle having a small-diameter portion disposed on a distal side in adirection in which the sewing needle extends, a large-diameter portiondisposed on a proximal side and having a larger diameter than thesmall-diameter portion, and a varying-outer-diameter portion disposedbetween the small-diameter portion and the large-diameter portion, thesewing needle holding device comprising a holder configured to hold theproximal side of the sewing needle, and a presser member attached to theholder, wherein the holder allows at least the varying-outer-diameterportion and the small-diameter portion of the sewing needle to protrudefrom a holder distal end surface of the holder, and the presser memberhas an opposing portion that opposes the holder distal end surface, theopposing portion being provided with an insertion hole allowing thesmall-diameter portion to be inserted therethrough, and at least part ofthe insertion hole forms a pressure receiving surface that comes incontact with the varying-outer-diameter portion.
 2. The sewing needleholding device according to claim 1, wherein the varying-outer-diameterportion is formed as a tapered portion whose diameter increases from thesmall-diameter portion toward the large-diameter portion.
 3. The sewingneedle holding device according to claim 1, further comprising apressurizing mechanism configured to apply a pressurizing force to theholder and the presser member in a direction to place the holder distalend surface and the opposing portion close to each other.
 4. The sewingneedle holding device according to claim 3, wherein the presser memberhas a side portion extending along a side of the holder, the sideportion is provided with a through hole passing through the side portionalong the direction in which the sewing needle extends, the pressurizingmechanism includes a male screw member and a female screw member, themale screw member includes a male screw shank that is inserted into thethrough hole from a distal side of the side portion, and a male screwhead that is formed integrally with the male screw shank, the femalescrew member includes a hollow female screw shank that is inserted intothe through hole from a proximal side of the side portion and that has afemale thread formed therein to be engaged with the male screw shank,and a female screw head that is formed integrally with the female screwshank, and inside the through hole, the male screw shank is screwed intothe female screw shank so as to apply the pressurizing force to theholder and the presser member between the male screw head and the femalescrew head that are placed close to each other.
 5. The sewing needleholding device according to claim 4, wherein the side portion is formedof a set of side portions that oppose each other, with the holderinterposed therebetween, in a direction that is orthogonal to thedirection in which the sewing needle extends.
 6. The sewing needleholding device according to claim 1, wherein the holder is provided witha fitting hole which has a bottom and into which the proximal side ofthe sewing needle is inserted, and a screw hole extending along adirection intersecting the fitting hole so as to allow the fitting holeto communicate with an outer side of the holder, and the proximal sideof the sewing needle is held between a setscrew screwed into the screwhole and an inner wall surface of the fitting hole.
 7. The sewing needleholding device according to claim 6, wherein the sewing needle has aproximal end surface that comes in contact with an inner bottom surfaceof the fitting hole when the sewing needle is held in the holder.